Bering Strait 2016 Cruise: CTD Casts of Water Properties

Two hundred seventy-seven CTD casts were collected during a nine-day research cruise aboard the R/V Norseman II in July 2016. The dataset contains vertical profile measurements of pressure, temperature, conductivity, oxygen, fluorescence, and turbidity from the Bering Strait and southern Chukchi Sea. Data support the NSF Arctic Observing Network and are archived in CNV format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature and salinity for water mass identification.
• Studying dissolved oxygen distribution and potential hypoxic conditions in the region.
• Investigating chlorophyll-a proxies via fluorescence measurements for biological productivity.
• Calibrating or validating continuous mooring data from the same observing network.
• Assessing water column structure and turbidity for sediment transport studies.

Strengths

• Contains a substantial number of observations with 277 distinct CTD casts.
• Data collection used a Sea-Bird SBE911p system with dual sensors for key parameters, suggesting quality control.
• Has a defined temporal and spatial scope focused on a critical Arctic region over 9 days in July 2016.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates formal archival and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and precise data structure are not specified in the provided metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2026 vs. 2016), creating uncertainty about maintenance.
• No water samples were collected, limiting validation of sensor data or additional biogeochemical analysis.

Provenance

Source

Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington.

Collection Method

Data gathered via ship-based CTD casts using a Sea-Bird SBE911p system.

Time Range

2016-07-07 to 2016-07-15

Freshness

2026-03-06 (from Data.gov, though this may be a metadata update; data collection ended 2016-07-15)

Geography

Bering Strait and southern Chukchi Sea, US waters near mooring locations.